Taste Full Beans — Restaurant in Hickory

I saw this place had several vegan options so I was excited to get out of the rain and enjoy a late lunch. My whole experience yesterday was kind of distasteful. Let me start by saying the actual cafe is super cute and I love their support of other small businesses throughout the shop. Their menu is more diverse than I anticipated and definitely had an overwhelming amount of drink flavors, it’s fun and geared towards customization which is awesome. I ordered a green machine smoothie and opted to add banana and almond milk. I also ordered a tempeh chicken-less salad on a bagel...after I ordered I requested to sit and the woman who took my order confirmed through another employee that there was an available table. I took my order number and went to sit down and was told by a couple ladies sitting down across from the empty table that the table ‘was taken’. There was no signs of anyone sitting down and I told them that the staff had told me I could sit there...I immediately felt uncomfortable and walked back up to the front to tell the staff I would just take my order to-go since apparently the table was in fact already in use. Two women in line to order spoke up and apologized and offered the table back to me, to which I declined due to the awkwardness of not wanting to sit across from the ladies who tried to tell me where I could and couldn’t sit. Also I wanted them to enjoy each other’s company! I gave them my order number and waited for my to-go. Meanwhile ANOTHER person had put their bag on the empty table before the women I gave the table to could go sit! Therefore leaving them without a place to sit! I guess my main concern here is the confusion with the seating area. I know you are doing your best with COVID protocol, but the lack of communication and the chaos of it all was really off putting. I understand that it wasn’t necessarily any employee’s fault either because it’s not their job to conduct musical chairs. Maybe having a sign indicating that you must order before seating would help?

Now for the food itself. My smoothie was probably the worst smoothie I’ve ever had. Not to mention paid for. I’m honestly not sure what went wrong. To advertise you use frozen fruit, you must use 1/4 cup or less because it was soup with chunks of kale. Smoothies with frozen fruit should be flavorful, nice and thick, especially since I requested the addition of frozen banana. It was also supposed to have ginger and a bit of OJ to which I couldn’t taste either. It was basically a cup of almond milk. Absolutely disappointing. The tempeh chicken salad was super oily and underwhelming. The side of kale slaw had good flavor but it was such a pathetic amount and looked like it was prepped 6 days ago. I want to give this place another try in the future because I like supporting family business, but I must say...not a good impression.

*EDIT: Owners refunded my order which was extremely kind and not necessary!! But very much appreciated. I would have continued to give them my business regardless, but bumping this up a star for their efforts in reaching out. Thank you so much Julie and I look forward to supporting your...

I have marveled at the menu online for months now (since discovering it existed) because there is no delivery i just had to wait it out until I could actually visit. I was excited to see a vendor from there at Hickory Market who pointed me in the direction to where the shop was located. As I bragged to my nearly teenage daughter about the actual 100%healthy option in eating out for us, I just couldn't wait to share this time with her and this healthy experience. The store from the outside in is absolutely adorable. I rarely drink coffee but it smelled so good that I was actually going to try some. The shop inside also has many wonderful items and the customers were just so much fun. This is definitely a lovely spot. As I approached the counter to place my order and ask lots of questions, since I have waited so long to try this beautiful selection, and obviously could not try everything at once, I was "ungreeted" by the cashier whom directed my every question to a menu on the wall that I have read at least a million times already as I daydreamed online about eating here.(there was no one in line at the time) She never even stood up straight just acted like I was a burden to her morning. I did not try the coffee, nor did I order the other 2 items I had narrowed it down to, simply because I felt like a burden and chose to order quickly and take it to go instead. I did order the veggie lovers wrap, a side of kale slaw, the spinach bites with the lovely dipping sauce and 2 milkshakes for my kids. Everything was as delicious as I imagined, maybe even moreso. The rest of the staff were lovely and helpful at the pick up side and the customers interacted with us about our selection as they knew how excited we were and this being our first trip. This could definitely be my favorite find if I ever decide to go back there. If not, I will still occasionally place an order and have someone pick it up for me. (I truly understand that we all have a bad day sometimes but I also understand that this is a treat for me and would rather not deal with that if I do not have to) thank you for the lovely food and...

I hesitate to give this review, as I am not a local and my experience was the first only experience with this shop. I understand that sometimes there is an off day or under-trained staff, etc. I was very excited to visit this shop for a snack and a quick coffee to go for my road trip. I went out of my way to enter the town to stop here because I had done some quick scanning before my journey and saw that the shop was highly rated and seemed to have many food items that spoke to me.

When I stopped in, I took a look around and could not see any sign of the extensive food menu that I had viewed online. Maybe I did a poor job of looking, but I was in a rush to get back on the road and they were closing soon. Because the menu was not obvious, I just asked about the muffins. The employee mentioned she had not tried all the muffins and couldn't advise me, so I went with the Chai. I also ordered a medium latte for my journey.

I cannot even express to you how disappointed I was to find that my coffee was probably the worst I had tasted in my life. It had a very strange taste. It was also WAY too hot, which I take as a sign of an inexperienced or poorly trained employee. I couldn't even power through the flavor for the sake of the caffeine for my drive. I threw it away after 2 very painful (b/c of taste) sips. And the muffin. was. awful. I was so hungry that I choked down half of it anyway, but the chai flavor was sharp, bitter, and unappealing. No, it's not that I can't handle spice or don't know what masala chai is supposed to taste like. I have tasted a variety of masala chai combinations and flavor profiles. This was just very poorly executed.

Edit: I received a response from Taste Full Beans and they confirmed that my experience was likely a timing issue, as the employee was in training. I appreciate the speedy and earnest reply, and will give it another go when next I am...